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One thing the public unions should like -- the right to sue over pension contributions

There’s one thing in the mammoth pension and health-benefit bill
that should please public worker unions, and I haven’t seen anyone
make note of it.

The bill, which could be approved by both the state Senate and
Assembly next week, says that any failure by the state or any other
public employer to make the annual pension contribution required by
the bill in any given year will be considered a violation of each
employee’s contract and subject to a lawsuit filed by any employee.
This brief section of the 124-page bill expressly says the state or
any other public employer must submit to the Superior Court’s
jurisdiction on this matter and may not invoke sovereign immunity,
which would otherwise protect a governmental body from such
lawsuits.

This is a big deal. The unions repeatedly point to the state’s
failure over the last two decades to make required pensions
payments. So at least the unions will have this much going for them
under the new law.

The bill - S2937 - was available on the Legislature's Web site a
half-hour ago, but now seems to have been taken down. Check back
here later to read the full bill.